


Broken Arm, But Not a Broken Heart

by Violetpickle



Category: Glee
Genre: F/F, Rachel Berry & Santana Lopez Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27648718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violetpickle/pseuds/Violetpickle
Summary: Inspired by a post I read. The Glee Club and its members are kind of like a strange family, and despite most of the things she says out loud, Santana does consider half of them her friends. So when Santana breaks her arm, she is scared that her sharp tongue and less than approachable attitude means that she'll be walking around with a blank cast. Santana wants more than anything for her fellow Glee members to sign her cast, but she's not going to ask them to because that's just sad, pathetic, and embarrassing.
Relationships: Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray, Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Broken Arm, But Not a Broken Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Not entirely canon, obviously, but the canon bits would only go as far as parts of Episode 1, Season2  
> -Rachel isn't toxic to be around and isn't self centered or spiteful.  
> -Finchel does not exist  
> -Brittany and Santana are openly a couple  
> -Read along and hopefully I cover all the important parts that remain from canon!  
> -Was going to do a one-shot but got carried away, so stay tuned for more parts  
> 

Quinn's hazel eyes were glued to her girlfriend, watching her go back and forth as she paced the choir room, if there was a hypnotist in the room they most definitely would be impressed. Quinn's eyes were in synch with the brunette's every movement.  
Quinn let out a sigh, well it was more of an impatient huff, she had been watching Rachel silently for several grueling minutes. She was definitely over it by now. Rachel had _requested Quinn's presence_ in the choir room that morning, those were the literal terms she used when she called Quinn that morning, long before the blonde's alarm was scheduled to go off.  
Quinn didn't understand why her girlfriend was so obsessed with the choir room, okay scratch that, of course she knew why. She knew Rachel better than anyone, sometimes it shocked her just how much she'd grown to know the diva in such a short time, at times she felt like she knew Rachel even better than she knew her own self. 

She was never that determined or interested in Finn. _Maybe it should have been obvious?_

What Quinn actually didn't understand was why her girlfriend needed to talk to her, well there wasn't much talking happening quite yet, but that was besides the point. The point was; Quinn didn't know why Rachel wanted to meet in the choir room an hour before school would even be in session. She didn't know why she couldn't just meet Rachel at her own house or why Rachel couldn't just come over to Quinn's house, they practically lived at each other's houses anyways.

For a short time Quinn had lived in the Berry household.

Being pregnant with Beth had taught Quinn a lot: For one, it taught her never to trust Puck, which wasn't really much of a lesson to learn, Puck had managed to weasel his way into her life but she wasn't sure she actually ever trusted him.  
Secondly, it taught her that Finn's IQ was so far off from her own that she wasn't quite sure what she saw in him in the first place or pretended to see, but that one was easy to answer as well, it wasn't him that she was drawn to, more so it was his status as star quarterback. Top of the McKinley social food chain. ( _At least he was, before Sam showed up, and Quinn kind of had to laugh, because if anyone asked she felt no sympathy for Finn losing his spot as QB._ )  
Third, and most important, it taught her that Rachel Berry was more than just a self centered, spotlight chasing drama queen.

Rachel was actually sweet and caring, especially when she was with someone who didn't make her question her worth, someone who didn't make a relationship feel like it was centered around make-out sessions and rather or not they were or weren't going to have sex. And maybe Quinn could say the same about herself, that she was sweet and caring and could actually handle communication in a relationship, but she never would.

It was when Rachel offered to let her stay at the Berry household, after her mother so easily allowed her to be cast out of her own home and when she was at the breaking point, being trapped in a house with Noah Puckerman, that Quinn started to see Rachel in a different light. Started to see who Rachel really was when Finn wasn't toying with her and when she saw herself beyond just _"The Star of Glee Club"_.  
Glee club wasn't a Christmas tree, it didn't need stars, stars in glee just led to fighting and feuding, instead of working harmoniously as friends ( _After all this was McKinley, not Carmel High, it was Glee Club against everyone else at the school_ ).

Quinn knew Rachel was more than just her voice and she was certain her girlfriend was slowly starting to believe it as well. Rachel was definitely becoming more bearable when it came to the glee club, when it came to sharing the spotlight with Mercedes, Santana and Kurt.  
Quinn didn't really care much to be in the spotlight herself though, not like the other three, she did love Glee, don't get her wrong, but she also knew here voice wasn't as strong as theirs.  
She wasn't this big voice that could stand in front of a crowd and have their jaws touching the floor. That didn't make her sad or feel insignificant, because no matter what, she did love being in Glee club and she enjoyed getting to do it with her girlfriend and their friends.

Now, just because she loved glee, more than she would ever admit to anyone other than Rachel, didn't mean she enjoyed being in the choir room far earlier than she deemed necessary. Especially when her girlfriend had yet to clue her in on why she was there.

That morning Rachel sounded...panicked or unsure, when they had talked earlier. If she was one of those people that bit their nails when they were nervous Quinn would have been certain Rachel's nails would have been nonexistent by the time they met in front of the choir room door.  
The couple had exchanged a few pecks on the lips before Rachel dragged Quinn inside, instructing her to sit down, _quietly_ , while Rachel got her thoughts together.  
And that's how they've been for the past, twelve minutes: Quinn silently watching Rachel, it had to be serious because more often than not it was impossible to get Rachel to shut up, especially when she was passionate or feeling particularly emotional about something.

In a way though, this felt different and Quinn was beginning to think this could go on forever; Rachel pacing until she burned a hole in the floor or until her shoes caught fire or something, and Quinn herself certain her eyes would catch fire if she had to keep watching her girlfriend go from one end of the room and back again.  
Quinn took another breath, inhaling deeply, she counted to three in her head before exhaling slowly, she was going to break the silence since there was no possible way to see inside her girlfriend's head, and she really just wanted to get it, whatever this conversation was, over with.  
She could handle conversations, well, she was working on handling conversations in relationships, but this wasn't a conversation and she was becoming impatient with every passing breath of silence.

"I'm worried about Santana." Rachel finally spoke, words coming out quick and frantic.

Quinn blinked once, and then twice, taken back by the sudden and long overdue outburst. Maybe the brunette had noticed the way her mouth opened or heard her exhale, or maybe she was simply determined to keep herself from hearing the words 'What's wrong' or some other variation.

Rachel finally stopped pacing, stopping right in front of Quinn, running her hands along her plaid skirt to smooth it down.  
"I'm worried about Santana." She repeated, slower this time. A frantic outburst replaced by words comprised of actual sympathy and concern.

Quinn nibbled her lip silently, she should have known. If she was being honest she was hoping Rachel wouldn't bring up her former fellow Cheerio.  
Not because she didn't like Santana, it was more along the lines of she felt guilty, and if she didn't think about Santana then she could stuff her guilt deep, deep, deep down.  
Down into some imaginary abyss where she kept all the feelings she didn't want to deal with or feelings that seemed too big and heavy to deal with. Feelings that she knew _eventually_ came spilling out.  
But at least it bought her some time not to think about them, right?

**/////**

"San, honey you look fine. You look more than fine, you look gorgeous." Brittany placed a kiss on the top of Santana's head, "You always look gorgeous." she smiled staring at her girlfriend's reflection in the mirror from where she stood behind her.

Santana rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help the smile that was playing at her lips.  
"Britt, this is stupid. This stupid cast makes it almost impossible to get my brows how I wants them." She grumbled, knowing she probably sounded somewhat like a bratty teen, and in all fairness she kind of was one?

Santana studied her eyebrows for another few seconds before tossing the pencil onto her vanity. She tilted her head back, staring up at her girlfriend who was now looking down at her instead of at their reflections, she'd never get tired of seeing that beautiful face. Seeing _that_ face, _those_ deep sparkling blue eyes, a face sprinkled delicately with freckles, framed in silky smooth golden locks, knowing all these things belong to _her_ girlfriend.

Who would have thought making out for trashy horny high school boys would turn into an actual, serious, relationship.  
A serious relationship with Brittany S. Pierce, her best friend. Only in her dreams, Santana Lopez, had thought at one point, that point being just last year.  
Sometimes she still had to pinch herself to make sure it was all true.

She puckered her lips and Brittany obliged, a curtain of blonde hair tickling her face as their lips pressed together for a warm kiss.  
"Do my eyebrows really look okay?" She whispered against soft root beer flavored lips.

And she already knew the answer.

Santana already knew because she could fill the grin spreading across Brittany's lips, she knew by the way space grew between their lips so that deep blue eyes could look into even deeper brown eyes, she knew because they had mastered the language of unspoken words.

She knew, but even though she knew she still found some comfort in the words Brittany spoke.  
"I'd never lie to you." Brittany whispered before placing a kiss right between Santana's eyebrows, "I'd vote you best eyebrows at McKinley High in a heartbeat."

Santana rolled her eyes, in that loving goofy way that only Brittany could pull out of her, tilting her head back down so she could stare at the dark blush that crept across her cheeks. Another thing Britt was good at.

"Now let me help you finish getting ready." Brittany spoke while offering her hand.

Santana was more than capable of getting herself dressed, after all it was just a broken arm, but how could she say no?  
Brittany was so chivalrous, plus the more time she spent thinking about her girlfriend the less time she spent dreading the school day to come.

**...**

"Britt babe, you've gotten so much better with your driving." Santana smiled as her girlfriend pulled into the McKinley parking lot.

Brittany still wasn't entirely confident behind the wheel, which is why they had come up with the rule that the radio should be the only noise present while the car is actively on the road. Santana didn't want to do anything that would prove to be a distraction for Brittany or make her feel overwhelmed behind the wheel.  
That was also why Santana usually drove the couple to school, but since she couldn't drive them to school, thanks to her stupid new arm accessory, the next few weeks would revolve around car rides filled with the sweet sound of overplayed radio music.

"Yea" Was all Brittany said while she pulled into their usual parking space, tongue poking out of the side of her mouth as she tried to get perfectly between the lines.  
She smiled once she was done, putting the car in park and turning her full attention to her girlfriend. "I always drive better when you're in the car, well when you're in the car and not your voice...your actual voice not the voice of you inside my head..." Britt paused for a minute, probably momentarily getting wrapped up somewhere in her own mind, then she continued, "I love your voice San, but when you start talking sometimes It makes me think of how you sound when you sing, then that makes me think of how you dance and sway your hips and just pull everyone's attention when you dance, and then that makes me think of other things. Private things." A small glint passed over crystal blue eyes at her own last words.  
"But with you in the car It always makes me a better driver, because I only ever want to keep you safe Santana."

"Britt," Santana whispered, such a simple word oozing with love and humored affection, a smile of adoration playing at plump red lips, soft dimples forming in her cheeks.  
It was true that her girlfriend had an interesting and unique way of expressing herself when it came to words, but Santana always knew exactly what she meant. The sentiment and love was never lost between the two of them. A tan hand moved to press gently against a warm cheek that was painted with a soft pink blush.  
"You're amazing." She purred before leaning forward to place a firm kiss to Brittany's lips.

It was a short kiss, but it was deep and passionate and held true to the emotions they shared for each other. Santana pulled away slowly, reluctant to stop the kiss, especially when the reason they couldn't keep kissing all day was because they had to go to school. The tips of her fingers that poked out of the cast playing at the handle to open the car door.

"San." Brittany spoke before the space they were sharing could be broken.  
Santana hummed, feeling Brittany's hand rest across the one that was till on her cheek and the other wrapping gently around her wrist, holding the Latina in place.

Brittany smiled, reaching across the car until she carefully was holding her girlfriend's cast. "Let me sign it before we go, I'll be extra careful. It wont hurt." She promised.

Santana chuckled softly, of course it wouldn't hurt, the cast was like a cinder block. Unless she banged her arm on a wall or between a door and a door frame she was sure she wouldn't be feeling much of anything.  
She nodded nonetheless, pulling her left leg up into the seat with her so she could fully face Brittany, stretching her arm across the middle console to watch her girlfriend make art on her cast.

Really the only thing Santana could be happy about, other than the fact that it was her right arm and not her left that was broken, was having Brittany by her side. The blonde would do anything to make sure she didn't have a hard time during this process, she'd make sure Santana had everything she needed and was as comfortable as ever, even with such a minor-major inconvenience.

**/////**

"Quinn, sweetheart did you hear me?" Rachel spoke softly, her girlfriend hadn't said a word, instead she was watching her with unblinking eyes. Rachel wasn't even sure she was actually watching her, maybe she was staring at nothing while being lost in her own thoughts.  
She stepped forward, placing one hand on each of Quinn's knees, that seemed to be enough to jostle the girl from whatever figurative place she had gotten lost in.

"Sorry Rach. Yeah, yes I heard you. But why do you care about Santana, she hasn't been all that nice to you." Quinn mumbled the last bit.  
She wasn't trying to start a fight between the two girls, or get them back on each others' bad sides, she really was just trying her best to avoid this conversation.  
She actually found it sweet that the two had grown to become friends, such friends that Rachel was actually concerned with Santana's well being.

A crinkle formed between Rachel's brows as she shook her head "Yes I know last year her and Brittany, as well as yourself." She added the last bit softly and with no malice, "We all weren't exactly friends or even acquaintances at the start of last year, I was intruding on your relationship with Finn and causing tension between him and the football team, making myself an easy target for both the football guys and the Cheerio girls, but things are different now Quinn. Between all of us".  
Rachel paused, nibbling at her lower lip for a moment before she continued, "Last year Santana admitted she liked glee, in confidence of course, but I know how much the club means to her. Maybe not as much as it means to me, but It does mean something to her."

Quinn nodded slowly, "So what you're saying is you're worried Santana will quit Glee and we wont have enough member's for sectionals?"  
She already knew, long before the words left her mouth, that wasn't what her girlfriend meant, but she had to try one final time to end this conversation before all her guilt came flooding out of the abyss she shoved it down in.

Rachel's lip twitched a bit before shaking her head, she could see it in her eyes that Quinn was trying her best to deflect from this conversation, but she needed to talk to someone, and she felt like Quinn would understand the most. Despite how she was currently trying to act like she didn't know Rachel at all.

"Quinn. You know that's not what I mean." Rachel moved to hold one of each of Quinn's hands in her own.  
"We've actually been getting along well since the school year started, I think it has something to do with her officially having Brittany by her side, as more than just her best friend, and knowing no matter how nasty and cruel she can be with her words the Glee Club will always welcome her. And yes, I know it's only been two months since the first day of school, but she's definitely been a lot less vicious..." Rachel offered a hesitant smile, "I think we kind of consider each other friends."

Rachel nodded to herself before letting Quinn's hands go, once again smoothing down her own skirt, "So I'm actually worried about _her_ Quinn, not the glee club. But Santana. There's a lot of talk, mainly amongst the Cheerios I pass in the hallway, but I heard something went down on Monday, at Cheerios practice, and when Santana wasn't in school yesterday It really made me feel unsettled. You're my girlfriend, and you're the one I trust to hear the truth from. What happened at Cheerios practice Quinn? You're the captain and Santana's our friend." Rachel's brown eyes were pleading as she took the seat to the left of Quinn.

Quinn took a deep breath, holding it while she turned so that she was facing Rachel once more, letting it out slowly as she lifted her eyes from her lap so she could look into her girlfriend's expressive brown eyes. She swallowed audibly, trying to build herself up as she recalled the events of Monday's practice. Then she took a final deep breath as the guilt started to make her feel nervous and sweaty, moving to hold Rachel's warm hands.  
It was both an emotional anchor and just overall comforting.

Monday always seemed to drag, it was like a whole week was jam packed into the one day alone, so when it was finally time for Cheerio practice Quinn found herself letting out the longest exhale. Maybe she shouldn't be so excited for cheer practice, especially because Coach Sylvester was completely unpredictable, and yet she still found herself looking forward to it. She finally got her place back as captain, yes it took a little bit of being a back stabbing friend, but Cheerio captain is where she belonged. 

There was no time to be wasted, no need to change because the girls always wore their uniforms to school, and maybe that was why Coach Sylvester did it?  
Made sure there was no time wasted goofing off in the locker room since the girls didn't need to spend much time in there before practice. Quinn put on her signature pageant-esque smile as she walked into the gymnasium, hands positioned on her hips.

"Coach Sylvester." Quinn spoke loud, clear and confident as she moved to stand next to the older woman.

"Quinn. I'm glad you're taking this seriously and not making me regret my decisions of appointing you as my captain. No more of that teen pregnancy nonsense." Sue spoke without looking up from her clipboard, not even the most fleeting of glances for Quinn Fabray.

Quinn was thankful Coach Sylvester didn't offer her a glance because she couldn't help the way her eyes rolled, how could you not roll your eyes when you were in the presence of Sue Sylvester, or any of McKinley High's faculty staff for that matter.  
"Yup. No more of that _pregnancy nonsense,_ " She tried to keep her tone flat but there was still a hint of annoyance that slipped in at the end of her statement. "It's a lot harder to have pregnancy scares when you're dating a gi..."

Quinn's words fell short as Coach Sylvester cut in, no surprise she wasn't listening, being captain didn't mean all of a sudden getting any respect from her coach.

"Teen love, it makes me sick. As if love wasn't painful enough and teens weren't annoying enough. Maybe if you lazy sack of disappointment and hormones could focus on more than just your sexuality, or rather or not some sweaty ape beast likes you, then you'd love yourself enough to give Cheerios practice half the attention you spend crying into your pillows at night." Coach Sylvester spat, slapping her clipboard against Quinn's chest. "Get the girls warmed up, I'm going to find a routine that will have you halfwits bleeding from every pore in your body."

Quinn's eyes were locked on the couple, hand in hand, as they walked into the gym. She was so distracted she had to hold back a cough, letting out a small gasp as she felt the clipboard pressed harshly against her chest, having just enough consciousness to wrap one hand around it to keep it from hitting the floor.

Brittany and Santana had started dating, officially, over summer break.  
At first the two intended to keep it lowkey during school and especially during Cheerio practice, but when Santana got bumped to the bottom of the pyramid she saw no reason to. She was literally at the bottom, what else was there to lose? And of course as long as Santana was happy Brittany didn't mind either way.  
And to everyone else's surprise, well if everyone else consisted only of Quinn, none of the other Cheerios seemed to care. In all honesty they all felt it was just a matter of time; when they weren't together they were like lovesick puppies, plus Britt and San already held pinkies everywhere they went, so holding hands wasn't much different or that far off.

They actually received a round of applause the first time they walked into Cheerios practice hand in hand, all fingers intertwined perfectly, Quinn was certain if Sue had been there on that day, and at that moment, it wouldn't have quite been the same. But nonetheless she couldn't help but be happy for them.  
Now since the other girls didn't care and all Coach Sylvester cared about was winning, she ignored it for the most part.  
After all everyone gets a little bit of Sue Sylvester's venomous bite every now and then.

Santana didn't even offer Quinn a glance as she walked towards the bleachers, though Brittany offered her fellow blonde a small wave. Quinn did miss Santana, surviving Sue Sylvester's practice from hell, and beyond, definitely was more bearable as a team, but she did sell out Santana for her _rightful_ place as captain, so she understood completely why the Latina was giving her the cold shoulder.  
However, Quinn was thankful it was only like this in cheerios' practice, when it came to the halls of McKinley and Glee Club they were still The Unholy Trinity.

...

Quinn had run the girls, and the few guys that were on the team, through stretches and warm ups.  
Coach Sylvester had run them through some extravagant routine that was a mix between cheer and dancing (as much as she liked to talk down on Glee Club Quinn couldn't help but feel like Sue's routines felt more like something she'd due in Glee Club), but now with about half an hour of practice left it was time to practice the pyramid.  
Quinn always felt queasy at the mention of the pyramid; no matter how cool they were outside of Cheerios, rather it be real or pretend, she knew Santana always held this fire of resentment and probably hatred for her towards the aforementioned subject matter.  
Santana would let her harsh leering pass over Quinn every now and then, but her eyes rarely stayed for long, which the blonde was grateful for. Santana had long mastered the 'If looks could kill' and she was certain she'd crumple or combust under the gaze of dark irises.

Not only did she have to worry about Santana, but she also had to worry about the fact that Coach Sylvester never seemed to be satisfied. Quinn would obviously be top of the pyramid, but finding a second from the top to take Santana's former place seemed impossible, it almost felt easier to just give Santana her spot back, but sure enough Sue wouldn't listen to Quinn's weak attempts at mentioning this.  
And if she pushed too hard she knew she could easily find herself being replaced once again as top of the pyramid.

"You!" Sue shouted, pointing to her ever rotating candidates, "Get up there, try not to break your fall with your face if you come crashing down." She spat.

Quinn's eyebrow's knitted together as she watched the girl make her way to the partially formed pyramid. This girl had no confidence to be at the top. or even close to the top of the pyramid, she thought to herself. Her stomach felt like it was forming it's own tight little knot and she had to wipe her palms on her skirt, feeling like they were becoming sweaty.

Quinn bit her lip, maybe she was just being ridiculous, maybe it was just the feeling of Santana's leering on her that was making her so uncomfortable. Coach Sylvester wouldn't have chosen this girl if she didn't believe she had what it took.  
Quinn kept her eyes on the girl, doing anything not to meet Santana's eyes that she was almost certain were tearing a hole into her.

Quinn held her breath as the girl made her way to the top, letting her eyes drop to the floor with a relieved huff when she reached her position with no problem. She flattened down her skirt before moving to take her place at the top, but before she could an arm stopped her from moving any further.

"Don't get your panties in a knot Fabray, she only just got up there." Coach Sylvester spoke, eyes locked on the current status of her cheerio pyramid.

Quinn rolled her eyes but didn't say anything, letting herself relax into place. She didn't understand why this had to be some trial by fire crap, yes the pyramid was one of the hardest basic cheer routines, but wouldn't it be easier to simply get it done and over with.  
She mirrored Sue's posture, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched the other girls.  
It only took a few moments to realize that maybe Coach Sylvester was right. She could see the way the girl seemed to squirm at the top. The base held firm, no matter how much Santana hated to be at the bottom, and didn't actually deserve to be at the bottom, she learned quick to hold her form. She was virtually a statue where her arms used to be shaky.

If a pyramid was to fall you'd think it would start at the bottom, but it was clear where the weakest link was, It was clear to Quinn so how could it not be clear to Coach Sylvester?  
It happened in a matter of quick moments, the whole pyramid was coming down, it happened in such a flash Quinn still wasn't sure how one squirmy unconfident girl could bring a whole pyramid down from top to bottom.

Quinn was speechless and seemed to be frozen in place, where the pyramid used to stand was now just a pile of bodies groaning and pushing amongst each other, somewhere in that mess Santana had disappeared underneath multiple Cheerios.

"You think this is hard! Try eating lunch with Coach Bieste, that's hard!" Coach Sylvester screamed through her megaphone before hurling it at the ground, broken bits of plastic heading in several directions. Sue offered no other words, no words to the pile on the floor or Quinn before storming out of the gym.  
Luckily just about everyone was already on the ground because Quinn was certain if anyone got in their coach's path they wouldn't last.

After pulling her eyes from the door that Coach Sylvester exited she moved to look back at the rest of her team; Brittany had made her way across the floor to where Santana once was, pushing through the bodies that had yet to get to their feet or shuffle away from the disaster.

"San...San. Santana, it's Brittany. Honey it's me." The tall blonde spoke, trying to keep the wavering out of her voice as the Brunette came into view as the bodies were pushed off of her.  
She was curled in a ball, and though Quinn was several feet away she could see her body was shaking, her head and her body were trembling, clearly she wasn't okay. Far from it.

**...**

"It was my fault." Quinn finished, a soft and raspy whisper, blinking away the moisture that had formed in her eyes. She couldn't meet Rachel's eyes as she recalled the events from Monday's practice.

Rachel gave Quinn's hand's a firm squeeze "It's not your fault...well it's not entirely your fault. Sure you sold her out for a superficial position on the squad, but I've sold plenty of people out, especially last year..." Rachel took a deep breath, shaking away the mess that was their sophomore year, "Quinn, baby, you had a really tough and horrible year last year, I'm not saying it was okay to back stab Santana, what I am saying is I can understand why you did it."  
Rachel paused so she could lean up and over, placing two faint kisses to Quinn's lips, "It's not entirely your fault, Sue Sylvester is the Cheerio coach, she should spend her time show casing her best members, not being spiteful. It's Coach Sylvester's fault." Rachel spoke firm, hoping to leave little to no room for argument.

Quinn smiled at the pair of kisses that were placed on her lips, but still found herself shaking her head when her girlfriend finished talking. "Even if, by some chance, it's not my fault...I'm still a terrible friend. I haven't checked on Santana at all, not a text, not a call..." Quinn's eyes moved to the main door of the choir room, hoping maybe by some miracle the Latina would come in the room. 

Rachel gave Quinn's hands another squeeze, "Just talk to her. We're all friends, we all made stupid mistakes and horrible choices last year, but the Glee Club is a family. I'll come with you, I'm here, whatever you need Quinn."

Quinn brought her eyes back to meet Rachel's, finding everything she needed, she brought their hands up so she could kiss the top of Rachel's hands. "She might actually like you more than she likes me at this point and I always need you by my side." Quinn breathed before standing up, giving Rachel's arm a little tug whilst doing so.

**/////**

"Do you like it?" Brittany asked as Santana examined her cast, turning it so she could study every piece of ink that was newly appointed to it.

"Brittany it's wonderful." She breathed, and it truly was; there was a messily drawn picture of Lord Tubbington accompanied by several hearts and the words 'Stop The Violence'.  
It wasn't the most traditional way to sign a cast, but was there really any tradition when it came to cast signing, even if there was Santana knew every line and word was formed with love. How could she not feel the entirety of Brittany's love when she looked down at it?

Brittany smiled, leaning over to press a kiss to Santana's temple, "I wanted to use crayon but then there wouldn't be enough room for the rest of the glee kids to write on it. I know they're kind of annoying, and gossip too much, and pretend to care when they really don't, but I know they'll care about this. So I left them just enough space, of course I get the most space. Because I love you the most." She smiled before getting out of the car before Santana could even offer a reply.

Santana sighed softly, as sweet as Brittany's words were and as sweet as her girlfriend was being she was sure it would be for naught.  
The glee club was a family, after just one school year of being a club they had gone through a lot together, but being a family didn't mean they were friends. It didn't even mean they always had to like each other. She knew she had plenty of reason for her fellow club members not to like her. She wasn't always a nice person and sometimes her nice wasn't nice enough.

"San are you coming?" While Santana got caught in her own thoughts Brittany managed to wonder around the car, holding the door open for her girlfriend.  
"Yea. Sorry Britt." She mumbled before getting out of the car.

"Britt Babe, you know you didn't have to quit Cheerios because I did." Santana rubbed her thumb along the back of Brittany's hand as the couple entered the school, hand in hand, Santana's free hand holding her binder to her chest with her cast and the tips of her fingers.

Brittany grinned, glancing at her girlfriend from the corner of her eye, "If I didn't you'd totally be grumpy about it for like...a week."

"Maybe..."Santana grumbled with an eye roll, knowing full well her girlfriend was more than likely right, "But I still would have supported you. I'd still watch you. Especially because that totally inappropriate, and barely legal, uniform makes you look completely hot."

Brittany chuckled and nodded, leaning over to kiss the top of Santana's left shoulder, "I also quit because Cheerios is no fun without you, It actually kinda wasn't fun with you..." she admitted, earning a sharp eyebrow raise from the Latina just as they reached their lockers.

"I just mean Sue has been really mean, everyone knows you're the only person who deserves that spot near the top of the pyramid. As much as those girls try, none of them can ever be as amazing as you Santana." Brittany explained, noting the look she earned from her girlfriend.

"Yea well Sue's loss." Santana said, giving Brittany's cheek a kiss before the two separated so they could get into their respective lockers.  
Santana would miss Cheerios, even with all of Sue's horrible treatment it always felt like a natural place for her to be, after all her and Britt had won Nationals last year as sophomores. Not to mention they had been bumped up to captains.  
That wasn't something easy to do, especially while surviving under Sue Sylvester's regime.

"You're not wearing your Cheerio uniform." Came that familiar voice that seemed to be growing more and more unbearable with each day, the words directed at Santana who barely flinched as she rummaged through her locker.

Santana pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she turned her head just enough to take at the pair standing next to her, "Oh Fabray you're so observant, surprised you could see anything beyond Sue's ass that you've grown accustom to kissing." she tutted before once again giving her locker her entire attention.

"I'm Captain, and as much as you hate to see it, I would have at least hoped..." Quinn rolled her eyes, letting out a silent huff of air as her words were cut off by Santana's hand being held up as a means to silence her.

"Berry what the hell do you want, because I bet you're just itching to talk my ear off too. And as much fun as this conversation isn't, I'd prefer my morning not be completely ruined by beating up your girlfriend for a second time in the same amount of months." Santana offered a fake smile, turning her body so she was fully facing them, arms coming to cross over her chest.

"San." Brittany whispered from behind her, moving to wrap her arms around her waist while also resting her chin on Santana's shoulder, usually she wouldn't mind letting her girlfriend go all Lima Heights or whatever, but the past day and a half had been so exhausting she knew it was best to keep things civil.

Santana sighed, feeling herself relax as familiar arms circled around her waist, she let her own crossed arms loosen just a bit where they rested against her chest. She knew Brittany was right, even though she didn't say much in the moment, she didn't need to, Santana already knew what she was thinking. It was too early in the morning, too early after her accident, just entirely too early for this much tension between the girls.

Sometimes having a tongue like hot metal and cold venom really was hard to contain, which is why as she let her eyes drop to the drawing on her cast she knew it would probably be the only thing written on it.  
Maybe she should be happy, maybe it should be enough, they had won nationals as cheerios, but Brittany was the real trophy she got out of sophomore year, but she couldn't help feeling a bit saddened at the thought that her fellow Glee members didn't actually like her. She couldn't really blame them, it wasn't like she always liked them. Though, no matter what, she knew she had their backs and she just wanted to believe that sentiment went both ways.  
"Rachel, what do you want." Santana spoke, this time her voice containing a lot less hostility.

Rachel couldn't help the small smile that spread across her lips as the Latina seemed to relax a bit, Brittany really was good for her, but the smile was short lived as she looked down at the cast on her right arm. "I just...well you weren't at lunch yesterday."

Santana tilted her head back a bit, eyes cast up at the ceiling, as if looking for some higher power to give her patience to get through this entire interaction. "Yea well I wasn't at school in general yesterday Yentl, so If you're here because you're worried about your little Glee Club, don't. I'll be there, you don't need to nag me about how much practice I need or whatever. Save it for someone else. Just because I quit Cheerios doesn't mean I quit glee too, despite whatever lies Quinn's spreading, and as much as you'd love to have the entire spotlight to yourself."

Brittany lifted her head as she felt the tightness return in Santana's shoulders, "Class is starting soon," She mumbled softly to the group.  
Britt didn't really care to be in class, but it felt like this conversation was going as anyone would expect it to go, which is not well. She had thought for a moment Quin and Rachel had actually came to see if Santana was okay, to truly check on the former Cheerio, but apparently not. Maybe she was wrong in the car, maybe her broken arm wasn't something they'd actually care about.

Quinn groaned and shook her head "Ugghh! Santana can you stop being a pain in my ass and stop the stupid bickering for like five minutes," She gestured with her hands, surprised at how much things escalated out of nothing.

Brittany shrugged "Quinn it's fine, we get it. I hope you have fun with Cheerios. Rachel we will be in Glee Club. We promise." her voice was soft and a bit reserved, eyes looking anywhere but into their eyes.  
Santana nodded closing her locker in synch with Brittany before her hand was once more intertwined with the blonde's as she was dragged away from Quin and Rachel, Brittany just wanted to make sure Santana had time to calm down before class, leaving both Quinn and Rachel a bit flabbergasted as the couple walked away.

"Quinn!" Rachel chastised, stretching out her name as she gave her a slight disapproving shove to the shoulder.

Quinn sighed, running her hands over her face, "I know Rach, I know. You don't have to yell at me, that's just the way Santana and I work, but clearly I'm going to have to gain a little bit more patience or I'm never going to get rid of this guilt." She muttered the last bit.

Rachel shook her head, a mix of disbelief and sympathy, she reached to gently rub her thumb along Quinn's cheek, "I know you feel guilty, but right now our focus needs to be on our friend. It needs to be on making sure Santana is okay. I know she's the last person to talk about her feelings, especially to anyone who isn't Brittany, so we need to show her that we're here for her. We need to show her that everything the glee club went through last year matters. We are a family Quinn, and though she makes fun of me majority of the time I know she cares and I care too."

Quinn sighed, softer this time, nodding in agreement "As much as it pains me to say it, you're right. This is about Santana, maybe i'll try and talk to her alone. Just the two of us."  
Rachel titled her head, raising a questioning eyebrow.  
Quinn chuckled softly, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to her lips "I promise I'll be civil. If it's just me it'll feel less like some glee club intervention and more like a friend coming to mend a relationship."

Rachel thought about her words for a silent moment before giving a faint nod, Quinn was right. Quinn knew Santana better than anyone, well with the exception of Brittany of course, since the former pair were friends long before glee club, the brunette had no true argument with letting her girlfriend fix things her own way.  
Rachel knew she could trust Quinn to mend the tension that had wedged itself between the two girls, the blonde was definitely a different person from who she was at the start of last year. A year ago Rachel would have thought Quinn was playing some kind of angle, but now she could see her girlfriend was being completely genuine.

Quinn regretted making the rash decision that got her the captain of the cheerio spot and even more so regretted not having the fiery Latina by her side, on the same team.

****

/////

****

"Ms.Lopez"  
Came the droning voice of Santana's history teacher, pulling her attention from her notebook; where she was doodling random nonsense. Well it wasn't nonsense, it was a collection of things that reminded her of Brittany, unicorns, cats, a strange attempt at fondue and of course hearts, but suffice to say she hadn't been paying much attention for the entire block.  
Santana lifted her head, but didn't offer an actual response.

"You're dismissed."

Santana narrowed her eyes ever so slightly but nodded, she thought first block was just a fluke, but here she was getting let out of her second block early as well. She knew it definitely had something to do with her recently acquired broken arm, which didn't make it any less strange, it was just a broken arm it wasn't like she had broken her legs or something.  
None of the stupid teachers at McKinley ever let Artie out of class early, and he was in a wheel chair for Christ sake, it definitely had something to do with Sue Sylvester. Nobody had more pull in this school than she did, not even principle Figgins.

Santana sighed, resisting the desire to roll her eyes as she walked out of the classroom, "What, are you stalking me now Fabray?" She asked as she brushed passed the Cheerio. She just wanted to get to her locker, she wasn't in the mood to hear whatever nonsense Quinn had to say.  
The morning proved to be enough interactions between the two of them for the Latina's sake.

Quinn let out a soft groan, falling into step next to Santana, "Can we just get past all this bitterness? I'm really sorry that your arm is broken San, and you know at the beginning of the year if it was me instead of you that you would've done the same thing. Anything for that head Cheerio spot."

Santana shrugged one shoulder "Maybe. Maybe not. I know you went through a lot last year, with Beth and getting kicked out and everything, and I'm sorry you had to go through that. But I guess I figured you'd come out the other side a little less spiteful, especially after dropping Puck and Finn. I know Berry is obnoxious and usually only thinks about herself but she actually makes you happy and makes you a better person. But I guess that can only go so far." Santana had stopped walking so she could stare directly into Quinn's hazel eyes, wanting to make sure none of her words were lost in translation.  
"McKinley is Brutal, we all joined glee to destroy it from the inside, but you, Britt and I actually found a place that is about more than just popularity and superficial traits. We had your back last year, it took some time, on account of that I'm a bitch, but I would have liked to start this year off different, instead of being thrown under the bus by someone who's supposedly my friend. Even Berry wouldn't do that." Santana muttered the last bit before turning on her heels to continue the walk to her locker.

Quinn stayed frozen in place though, the reality of the situation finally dawning on her. She had never even considered that she had done something that went past simple anger, she had truly betrayed Santana, there was a crack in their trust. Santana wasn't angry, she was hurt, and she hid it the only way she knew how, with indignation and bitter snark.

Quinn watched the brunettes' retreating form until she turned the corner. She was feeling worse than she had this morning, because Santana was right, Rachel definitely made her happy, genuinely happy, and Rachel helped her be a better person. But it was clear she still had learning to do, which wasn't inadvertently a bad thing, it was just the truth.  
"Get it together Fabray." Quinn muttered to herself before prying herself from where she stood, she told Rachel she would make things right, she wanted to make things right, so of course she wasn't about to give up that easily.  
When she caught back up with her Santana had already reached her locker, binder shoved in her locker so she could examine her own eyebrows in the mirror.

"Look San. After last year I just didn't want to be at the bottom again, I know it doesn't make it right, you were an easy target and probably the person who stood the most in my way to being one of the most popular people at this crappy school. I know it doesn't make it right, and there are far more important things than popularity. Like glee and our friends, I don't want the rest of high school to be where you hate me. We hate each other sometimes, we pull each others hair and slap each other, but you're one of my best friends, we get each other, no one can understand me like you, not even Rachel. She would say she understands but she wouldn't really..." Quinn paused, nibbling at her lip.

"I don't want to have to be looking over my shoulder for you like you're some weird serial killer in a movie. But it will take some time...Quinn." Santana glanced at her from the corner of her eye before once again giving her eyebrows her full attention.

Quinn felt warmth resonate through her, feeling like they were finally getting somewhere with each other, it was a start, and she liked that. "San you're eyebrows look amazing, But I can touch them up if you want."

Santana tilted her head a few times before shaking her head, "I wouldn't want you to make them worse." the corner of her lips curling up slightly to show she was joking.

"Hmm, next time I'll just lie and say they look horrible than." Quinn laughed, giving her a playful shove in the shoulder.

A small silence settled between them while they waited in each other's company, waiting for the bell to ring so they could meet up with their respective girlfriends. Quinn moved to lean her back on what would be Brittany's locker. "Britt is your only signature, are you going to let the glee kids sign it if they ask? I heard you turned a few of the football guys down."

Santana let her eyes fall down to her cast, of course she would let the glee kids sign it, what kind of stupid question was that? She gave a nonchalant shrug "Half the football guys are idiots, they'd probably just draw some pornographic image on it, so of course I said no. But if the glee kids want to I'll totally let them sign it."  
She tried to sound like she didn't care, but more than anything she wanted her cast covered in get well messages and cute doodles from the people she cared most about.

She would never say it to their faces, because that just wasn't who she was, but she did truly care about them. They were her friends and family.

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically just my random crack writing for these ships lol


End file.
